//------------------------------// // Harsh Reality // Story: TiM: A Tyrant's Words // by Twidashforever //------------------------------// Crystal Empire Ever since Commander Firestar’s injury at the hands of the Titan three months ago, she had been staying in the Crystal Empire. In order to improve the combat effectiveness of both sets of troops, the Crystal Empire and Cloudsdale held joint training drills, much to the enjoyment of Prince Radiant Star, his commanders, and the Cloudsdale instructors. Of course, the front line troops hated every single minute of it. Commander Firestar’s training was the hardest in all of Equestria. As the former Captain of the Wonderbolts promoted to the Commander of Cloudsdale, Firestar tended to forget that not all of the troops were the best of the best. Not that she cared. Firestar held all of her troops to the same standard regardless of where they started. If you were weak in flight, she would make you strong. If you could not bench-press her standards, she would change that. Her training regimen caused everypony to improve. It was unique in that it adapted to the pony, not trying to force any into groups that they would not fit in. Of course they would hate it at the start, but after a month of training, nopony could deny its effectiveness. Of course, as the Crystal Empire’s forces did not have a large number of pegasi in it, the training had to be changed. That did not stop a smile from crossing Radiant's face as he inspected the soldier’s training. They put every single one of his troops through their paces. The pegasi instructors from Cloudsdale were enjoying this moment to torture their fellow comrades in arms. As the two commanders watched the troop’s drilling, Radiant smiled as he saw squad three end up in the mud once more after failing to cross the log in the appropriate amount of time. Unfortunately, the pegasus he was currently pushing in a wheelchair in front of him, Commander Firestar, did not share in his enjoyment of this. “Your training has been too soft, Radiant.” He grinned at her as he continued to push the commander across the observation point. “Well, these are not elite soldiers Firestar. They're basic front line troops.” “That’s no excuse for getting sloppy, in a few months these ponies will be as fit as mine are.” “I look forward to that day.” Radiant said with a smile on his face. He knew his troops were good already, but with Firestar’s help, they would be even better. The thought pleased the prince. Firestar looked up at Prince Radiant; she smiled a wicked grin at him. “By the way, how long has it been since you did any training?” Suddenly, the training regiment took on a different light to the prince. Their actions, which moments before caused a sense of pride in their commander; suddenly seemed a lot harder, almost like they were asking too much of their troops. “Radiant… I'm waiting.” She added when his reply was not forthcoming. Radiant gulped, “A few…” “Days or weeks?” Firestar grinned, she already knew the answer but she wanted to hear it directly from the pony’s mouth. “Months.” His reply came, Radiant was never the sort of commander that would not do what he asked his troops to do. However, he had to admit that ever since he started taking care of Firestar full time, his training was ‘lacking’ to say the least. He used to train every single day; now, not so much. He honestly did not know if he would be able to keep up with his troops at this moment. “Now Radiant, what sort of example are you setting if your troops are training without their commander?” Her grin turned slightly evil at that comment. “Why are you doing this to me?” He pleaded with her. Firestar reached a hoof up and wrapped it around his head; bringing him in slowly she kissed him on the lips. After they broke apart, she forced his head down so she could whisper something into his ear. “Enjoy your ‘fuck-ton’ of training.” He gulped at that. He should have known that she would, eventually, get her revenge over that. There was no way out of this now. Prince Radiant Star, Commander of the Crystal Empire’s military forces: counted the next two hours as the hardest in his life. Commander Firestar watched it all, a smile never leaving her face as her stallion, eventually, completed every single obstacle her instructors put him through. She did have to give him credit though. While there was no doubt Radiant was out of practice, he was not out of shape. Prince Radiant even managed to finish a respectable third in the long distance run, although he never stopped glaring at her between the different drills. ‘I’ll make it up to him tonight.’ Firestar promised herself, ‘After he takes a few showers.’ She quickly added, as he ended up in the mud for the second time that day. Princess Cadance walked up next to the mare. After a quick glance into the training area, she saw what held Firestar’s attention. “So what did he do to deserve this?” “I’ll tell you another time,” Firestar said as she watched Radiant fall into the mud for a third time. To her surprise, she heard a giggle come from the princess as well. “You seem happy.” “Let’s just say. I had a very interesting conversation a little while ago.” “Care to share?” “I’ll tell you another time.” Cadance smirked. ………… Ponyville Spike finished rearranging the upstairs bedroom for the twelfth time that day. After the eleventh, he made Rarity mark exactly where every piece of furniture should go. He loved his wife to death, but it was quite taxing at times to put up with her more ‘eccentric’ nature. “Rarity, it’s ready for your inspection,” he called out, having to bite his tongue not to add ‘again’ to the end of the sentence. No response came from his wife. “Rarity?” he asked again. “Rarity?” Walking down the stairs, Spike saw the reason for her lack of reply. Rarity, the mare he loved more than life itself, lay passed out on the couch. A smile crossed Spike’s face as he simply watched her sleep. He knew not what she dreamed, but he could see from the expression on her sleeping form that it was at least a happy dream. For the past few weeks, Rarity was unable to go a whole day without at least one nap. While it was nothing of any significance yet, Spike knew she was getting up there in age. Someponies could live for a hundred years or more; however, Rarity was an element bearer. By their nature, they were all protectors and guardians of others. As such, they would not enjoy such a long life. They engaged in activities that took years off their lives. Thinking back to that day some forty odd years ago, Spike recalled the warning Rarity gave him. He would outlive her. Of that, there was no doubt. However, even with that awful thought in his head, Spike would not trade a minute of their time together to spare himself any amount of pain. His reply came back as clear today as when he said it back then. “Better a life spent in mourning of what was, than a life spent in regret at what could have been.” “Spike?” Spike gulped, he did not mean to wake her up. “I’m here Rarity, let’s get you to bed.” “That sounds wonderful.” She smiled as her eyelids closed again. He simply smiled as he ran a hoof through her mane. Gingerly, he picked up Rarity and placed her on his back. As he walked home from Twilight’s house, he spoke aloud to nopony in particular. “Thank you for all the time we had together, thank you for giving me a wonderful daughter, but mostly, thank you for being with me all these years. They mean more to me then you could ever know.” He swore he imagined the last part. “You’re welcome.” ……………………………………………….. Appleloosa “Ah, is the little pony upset? Are you crying because your love was taken from you, or because you gave up on him so easily?” Blood Dawn walked up to the mare crying on the ground. The lavender alicorn looked pathetic to the revenant, but he did not care. What mattered was victory; the easiest war to win was the one your enemy was unable to fight. Honor is a concept for a being that cannot do what it takes to ensure victory. “Would you like to know what his last thoughts were? I’ll tell you if you ask… Well, I’ll tell you if you beg.” Her sobbing intensified. “C’mon little pony, just say 'please mister Blood Dawn, tell me what my husband’s last thoughts were before you ate his soul'.” He took another step forward. Lifting his right hoof off the ground, the shadows changed shape to a blade. The Blood Revenant earned his title by showering the world in oceans of blood. It was his favorite method of killing: numerous small cuts that would slowly bleed his victim to death while ensuring that they felt every agonizingly painful moment of it. His natural speed and agility made him a deadly fighter in his own right. It fit his killing style perfectly. As he made the final few steps closer, each step accompanied by another insult to the mare’s honor. Another jab at how her husband suffered under his care. He raised his right hoof to begin the fun part of this task. “Just think, when I'm done here, I get the joy of hunting down Rainbow Dash and sending her to meet you.” At that, the mood in the cavern changed ever so slightly. Blood Dawn noticed it as soon as Night raised her face to look at him. There were tears still her eyes, but they shone with an intensity that wasn't there before. Her eye's shot daggers through him with a look that could kill. "You're a monster that feeds upon the souls of others. You're nothing more then a parasite in my ex-husband's body." With a drive that she did not possess before, Night got to her hooves. Each step was certain as she found her resolve. "To give the devil his due, I'll credit you with tricking me once but once is more than enough. I won't let you get anywhere near my parents." Blood Dawn's smile faded as he watched the alicorn call forth her magic power. ……… “What the buck did you just say to me?” “I asked if you want to hear what did not make it into the books, there's a lot more to you than you know.” Ataxia began pacing back and forth. For the first time since she could remember, Ataxia actually wished her partner were here. Having a second opinion would be useful right now. Alas, after she stormed off from Night’s condescending nature, the ‘princess’ had yet to catch up. This was her decision, one that she had to decide on her own. Fortunately, that was easy enough. Ataxia reared up on her back legs and launched a fireball at Tirek. He managed to dodge, but only just. His back legs suffered third degree burns from the proximity to the heat alone. “You'd really give up your only chance to know what I know? Are you willing to live with yourself after?” Tirek added, as he tried to stand again, only to fall on his flank. “How dumb do you think I am? I've been on every single hunt since you all got out of Tartarus. Creatures like you promised me everything under the sun. There is nothing you have that I would trade your life for.” “That may be, but I don’t want anything for this information.” “What?” “I'll be more than happy to share this with you, no price, no cost, not even for your promise to let me live after. I give it to you for free.” “Bullshit.” Tirek smiled at the dragacorn. “It’s not, I do this willingly.” Ataxia began pacing back and forth, yet again. She really, really, really wished Night was here right now. This was a new one; she never encountered this sort of deal before. While there was not a doubt in her mind that she could kill Tirek, she could not help but think, 'What if this was something that I really need to know?' However, could she even trust what he would say? “So you want me to listen to your lies? I don’t bucking think so.” “You won’t hear a peep from me; I will show you what I saw. You will see it first hoof, dragacorn. You will hear it as if you were actually there. Then you can kill me if you want.” ‘Damn… That is exactly what I did not want to hear,’ Ataxia thought. She was never big on book smarts, street smarts sure. However, as she had no experience with anything like this before, she was out of her depth to say the least. “This had better be worth it.” Tirek smiled at her, “Of course, there is one slight catch.” “I bucking knew it!” Ataxia reared up again, ready to create a bonfire where Tirek now stood. “You misunderstand. It takes a lot of magic to do this, even with all I've gained. I can only show you part of what there is to show. You can decide for yourself if you want to give me the energy to see the rest after.” Ataxia swallowed her flame. “So I can try it out before I buy it?” “More or less.” He grinned at her. “Fine, let’s see what you have to show me.” “Close your eyes.” Ataxia simply glared at him, the meaning of her look obvious to Tirek. It read clear as day: ‘I don’t bucking think so.’ “Very well, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Tirek raised his hands and clasped them together. With a blast of magic Ataxia’s vision left her with only an afterimage of blinding white light. ………………… A thousand years before the coming of Celestia and Luna “Damn Tyran, you look like you just got your ass kicked.” The huge black dragon stumbled into the cave, his feet unsteady on the rocky crevices. The cause of his inability to walk was obvious to all who lay eyes on him. Several long gashes made by magical attacks raked up and down his side. A lucky, or perhaps unlucky, shot pierced both his back legs, causing him immense pain every time he put his weight on them. However, he had to walk as he was unable to fly any farther. His torn wings barely got him here in the first place. “Another loss,” Tyran spoke to no dragon in particular. In truth, he need not have said anything. Every dragon in the cave could instantly tell that he had lost. None of them could claim victory over the two upstarts. “What happened to all the bragging? ‘I’m the strongest of all you wimps; I can ensure victory over two simple ponies. You all call yourself dragons?'" The green dragon began taunting Tyran. “Keep it up Cyrall. When these wounds heal you will find out what I'm capable off.” “If you don’t keel over first.” Tyran roared his defiance at that. Cyrall readied himself. If he did not start the fight, no dragon could blame him for finishing it. “ENOUGH!” They both turned and looked at the one who spoke. When it became obvious who that was, there was no longer any thought of continuing with the pissing match. They both bowed their heads in a submissive gesture to the newcomer. After all, one did not piss off the King of Dragons without signing his own death warrant. The ancient dragon landed between the two, his large frame easily taking up most of the cavern. His purple scales told the world of his rule for all who saw it. His was a title that he earned in every definition of the word. Several scars and dried blood ran down his sides. In a mark of a more recent battle, he held his left eye held closed. The Dragon King would never open it again, for he no longer had the eye. “Tyran.” The black dragon flinched as the King called his name. “I advised you not to go, not to seek out battle with the two. Yet you insisted. Tell me, have you learned your lesson yet?” “Yes king, I'm sorry I disobeyed.” The purple dragon held out a claw and lifted up Tyran’s face. “Some lessons cannot be taught by others. Some you must learn by yourself. As I have learned mine.” He gestured his other claw to his missing eye. “Now you have learned yours.” Tyran growled his displeasure at the situation. “I just can’t believe this is happening. They are just two... two ponies at that. How are we the ones losing ground? How are they this strong?” The old dragon pulled his claw back, allowing his subject to look away from his presence. He always hated how they all viewed him. He was ‘king’ but only because no dragon had ever defeated him in battle. It was never his intention to hold sway over the others. He never ruled them. Now, now they all expected him to know what to do. They expected him to lead, but he was in the same boat that they were. Never before had he known ponies that held this sort of power. Until now, they were nothing more then an easy food source. Now, these two were driving them out of their lands. If nothing changed, they would have no choice but to leave. That or die. “I don’t know…” it was the only answer he had and while it disappointed everyone who heard it. He would not lie, not now. “I might know a little about it.” A sudden, unexpected voice sounded from the back of the room. In a flash of white light, a being appeared that none of them had ever seen before. It had the body of a lizard, the head of a goat and all sorts of other limbs from different creatures all around the world. The large dragon reared up, prepared to face down this new foe that dared teleport into a cave directly in the middle of a horde of dragons. “Now, now, no need for that, I come in peace after all.” “You will leave in pieces, creature.” Cyrall threatened it. “I can do that too.” Suddenly, all the different pieces that made up this creature fell apart and started bouncing around the cave. Yet the head just kept grinning at the Dragon King at the edge of the cave. “Enough, I want to hear what this creature has to say.” With a snap of the creature’s claw, a flash of white light once more overtook the cave. The creature stood once more in the center of the dragons, a condescending smile plastered over his face. “Well, looks like one of you is more than simple emotion. What a shock, I owe me a drink for losing that bet.” Suddenly a second one of the creature appeared to collect on the debt. “After,” the creature spoke to his twin, who pouted before walking away and disappearing in a flash of light. “What are you?” The Dragon King asked. “Oh, yes. Introductions, where are my manners?” The being pulled a sack from behind his back and started rummaging through it. Even though the bag was only the size of his head, he somehow managed to fit half his body in it while seeking to find whatever he was looking for. A loud “Ah, ha!” soon came from the sack. The creature pulled his body free and held a shining light that read, ‘Manners’ out in his left hand. “On second thought, when have I ever wanted manners?” he tossed the light back in the sack and held it closed as a loud ‘Boom’ echoed throughout the cave. The sack expanded several times its normal size when the sound vibrated out. “The name is Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, and as I said, I might know a little about your, well, let’s say ‘problem’.” “You know about these two ponies?” “Ponies.” The creature started laughing, “I assure you, Dragon King,” he gave a very sarcastic bow, “they are as far removed from a normal pony as you and I are.” “Then what are they?” Tyran asked, no longer able to hold his tongue. “Ah, now that is the right question to ask. You see, they will soon come to be known as alicorns, to make matters worse; well for you, they are the first alicorns. I can assure you that they are more than capable of killing every dragon here if they wish.” The old dragon rubbed at a wound on his torso, it was a testament to the truth of what this ‘Discord’ said... “What can we do about it?” “You? Nothing.” “Is that a challenge?” Cyrall growled, unable to believe that this creature could do what they could not. “Feel free to prove me wrong, after you get your butt kicked all over the map I’ll be here waiting.” Cyrall backed off; he knew the odds were not in his favor on that particular confrontation. “Like I said, there is nothing any of you can do about them right now and as much as I hate to admit it, there is nothing I can do right now either.” “If you’re as worthless as us, then why are you here?” “Ah, great ‘King,’ you know as well as I do, the future holds all sorts of opportunities. You see, these two will not be around forever; they will pass their power to others. Ones that will not be quite as powerful as them; those I will defeat.” “Why?” “Come again? I don’t think I understood that question.” “Why are you doing this? I doubt it’s to help us.” “Oh, that… Yes, I don’t personally give a damn about any of you actually. However, dragons are sooo much fun. The fear and chaos you spread in all the creatures of this world is like a fine aged wine. It just goes down so smooth. Besides,” his tone went from playful to serious in the snap of a finger. “They are trying to bring harmony to this land. Something I have NO desire to see happen.” “The enemy of my enemy then?” “Exactly.” “What are we to do?” “Lead your horde south, past the Griffin Empire and into the badlands. It’s nice and warm there, plenty of gems to be found.” “So we're to run?” Tyran shouted, unwilling and unable to stay quite any longer. “Well, that or die when they get tired of simply spanking you all over the place.” “He makes a point, Discord. You want me to lead all of us away from our homelands on the promise that you will, one day in the future, defeat these alicorn’s kin. Then we're supposed to believe that you will simply, what? Give back all the land we used to own? It’s a lot of trust to place on a being that I've never seen before.” Discord thought about this for a while. “What, don’t I have a trusting face?” He transformed his face into that of a kitten. Judging by the look on the old dragon’s face, he was not impressed. “What do you think?” “Fine, I guess I'll give you some insurance. I know!” Discord held a claw to his head and pulled out a strand of raw magic from his temple. “As I said, there is nothing I can do about these two, but if I should fail against their kin, then this will ensure your victory.” …………………………… Ataxia’s eyes blinked several times as she tried to focus her vision again. “Wait, what?” “That's all I can manage right now…” Tirek said as he leaned on the ground, the magic drain sapped his ability to stand. “I don’t understand, what was that? What did Discord do? Who were the alicorns attacking the dragons? I thought you said you were there?” “So many questions, but I'm out of energy.” Ataxia now faced the unusual situation of wanting to know more. She knew of Discord, the God lived inside of her after all. However, this prophecy was new, this was knowledge that she did not possess. There were still a lot of questions that went unanswered on how this related to her and their situation. However, to learn more she would have to give this Tirek some power… “How much do you need?” “What?” “I said; how much power do you need to show me the rest?” “Ah, so you do want to hear what I have to say, I tell you what, I'll take only what I need to finish and then you can hear the rest.” Ataxia glared at him, she would not let this creature simply take what he wanted, she was not that dumb. “You really do think I’m stupid, don’t you?” “Well, if you won’t do that, I will leave it to you to judge how much power I need to finish.” Thoughts began playing in Ataxia’s head. Things would be so much simpler if someone else was here, she was not a decision maker dammit! That was left to smarter ponies. Every instinct she had simply told her to roast this creature and move on, yet she found herself torn between instinct and thought. It was an unusual situation for her to be in to say the least. While she wanted to be done with this, she could not help but think that not knowing would haunt her forever if she did simply kill him. “Fine…” “Sorry, my hearing isn't what is use to be, can you repeat that?” As in way of answer, Ataxia began channeling her magic into the tip of her horn. The grin on Tirek’s face told the story of his thoughts, he was clearly happy about this. That alone told Ataxia that this was a bad idea. Yet she committed herself to this and would not back down now. “Is this enough?” “I’m afraid not.” She channeled more power into the ball that grew in size. “Now?” “Still no.” She channeled more. “Now?” “Nope.” One final burst of magic entered the energy. “NOW?!” “Yes, that should do it.” Tirek absorbed the magic energy, enjoying himself as he almost doubled in size, his form growing to almost the size of Ataxia. She glared angrily as her gut once more told her to stop wasting time with this creature. “Now where were we? Oh yes, I remember. We left off with Discord about to give a little gift to the Dragon King.” As he raised his hands again, Ataxia shut her eyes. ………………… “Fine, I guess I'll give you some insurance. I know!” Discord held a claw to his head and pulled out a strand of raw magic from his temple. “As I said, there's nothing I can do about these two, but if I should fail, then this will ensure your victory.” Discord teleported onto the top of the Dragon King's back and stuck the magic into him. The dragon roared in pain as it seeped into him. “What did you do to me?!” “You? Nothing, like I said, we can’t do anything now, this is one of those... Kin of your kin of your kin, things.” Tyran launched a fireball at the draconequus. For his part, Discord simply split himself down to and let it harmlessly hit the back wall. “You missed by the way.” “You need to explain that Discord.” The Dragon King said. “Fine, I forget sometimes that mortals like things in black and white. You see, there is no way to defeat these two alicorns, not with the power in this room anyway. However, in the future there will come a time where the species will... let's say intermingle and a crossbreed will be born… Lets call it a dragacorn. This creature will possess all the power of an alicorn, with the strength and raw might of a dragon.” “No dragon would ever breed with a pony!” Cyrall yelled. “Oh, you can see the future can you? My bad, I thought I was the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. I guess I was wrong about that.” “Enough.” The Dragon King did not yell, as he did not have too. His voice reverberated off every wall and ceiling in the cave; demanding the obedience of every dragon that heard it. “So you say this ‘dragacorn’ will have enough power to destroy these alicorns and take back our homelands?” Discord held a claw to his beard, “Yes, I think that’s what I said… Do you want to check the instant reply?” “No, that is enough.” He did not know what this instant reply was, but the Dragon King had more than enough of this creature’s antics for one lifetime. “By the way, you might want to keep that part our little secret. If the worst should happen, the other races might come to enjoy the rule of the alicorns. They might be opposed to a hostile takeover, if you will.” Discord winked at the King. “Understood.” With a gesture of his tail, the Dragon King directed the entire horde of dragons out of the cave. He spread his giant wings and took flight behind them. Discord waved them all goodbye, when he turned around he was not surprised when a cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows. The figure approached the draconequus. “Hello Discord.” “Tirek, why am I not surprised to find you lurking around here?” “Tisk, tisk, and here I thought we were friends.” “Friends? Blech… never had any use for them.” “Indeed. Tell me, is it true?” “What?” “What you told that dragon, is it true? Are these alicorns really that powerful?” “Ahh… that. Yes, it’s all true. Even I cannot defeat them. To answer your next question, yes the dragacorn will be powerful enough to get the job done. It will be its destiny to kill all the alicorns. That creature will be my instrument to restore chaos to a world overrun with harmony. Assuming I fail of course.” “I've never known you to fail at anything.” Discord pulled out a large wheel with symbols all over it. Lines that ended in spokes at the edges separated each symbol. There was an arrow pointing down at the top of the wheel. Tirek noticed that every single symbol had a picture of Discord giving an obscene gesture of sorts. Save one, one picture that looked like an odd tree. “You see Tirek, when you play the game of chance; there is always the possibility you can fail.” He spun the wheel, as it went around and around it made a tick, tick, tick sound. Discord suddenly slammed a claw against the center. The wheel ended with the tree on top of the wheel, directly below the arrow. “After all, what’s the point of playing a game if you already know the outcome?” “And this dragacorn?” Tirek asked. “That, well that's my trump card.” With a snap of his fingers all the pictures on the wheel fell off, showing nothing but a picture of a half dragon, half pony, one that looked just like Ataxia. “That, my dear Tirek, is if I get tired of the game. It will be its destiny to end the life of every alicorn on this planet.” Tirek simply smiled, “What if I beat you to them?” “Oh, by all means, take your best shot at it. However, you will want to wait for the next generation before doing so. Also, you might need a little help before trying.” Tirek’s smile became a frown. “You’re referring to Scorpan, aren’t you?” “Tell him I said hi.” Discord snapped his fingers, teleporting Tirek to the other side of the world. …………………………… Ataxia stared in shock. It was her destiny to kill… “No…” Tirek smiled at the dragacorn. “Well, now to get onto the gruesome part of the task. I believe you were going to kill me.” Ataxia jumped onto Tirek, grabbing him with her claws. “That was a lie! That is not my destiny! There must be a mistake! There must be some other way!” Her thoughts turned to Princess Luna, Princess Twilight, and then to Princess Night. Night… she would hurt; she would kill, her… Ataxia wanted to throw up at that thought. She could never bring herself to hurt them, especially not Night… “I’m sorry, this is simply what I saw. I have no more control over it than you do. As long as you have this power, this is your destiny. You cannot escape it, you cannot change it, and you cannot run from it.” Ataxia was desperate for a way out, her mind played that event around her head a hundred times. There was one thing that he said that she took note of, one thing that she latched on to. ”What if I didn’t have this power anymore?” “Then, I suppose there wouldn’t be any way for you to fulfill your destiny.” “Take it!” “Come again?” “Take my power, all of it.” Ataxia watched as Tirek grinned at her, he then proceeded to drain every scrap of her magic, causing the mare to transform back into a unicorn and fall on her side from exhaustion.